Mark Glover's blog includes reviews of the latest motor vehicles introduced for sale in the United States, his take on various aspects of the auto industry and periodic insights on auto racing at home and abroad.

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Sacramento, California – Is it a
subcompact crossover sport-utility vehicle?Maybe a wagon? Whatever you call it, I remember thinking that the
new-for-2017 Kia Niro Touring was too small when I first laid eyes on it.

Like many
times before, I was wrong.Darn first
impressions!

So, what Kia
came up with here is an exquisitely functional vehicle that’s fun to drive and
capable of carrying much more than you might guess at first glance.

I should know.

I drove my
Niro from California’s Wine Country to Sacramento loaded down
with suitcases, boxes, food, suburban supplies and enough wine to make the
neighbors question my commitment to sobriety.

The Niro not
only took on what I could load into it, the increased weight did little to slow
it down.

The 1.6-liter,
four-cylinder engine matched with a 43-horsepower electric motor cruised well
in dicey interstate traffic and did not seem weighed down with the
floor-to-ceiling interior packed with humans and cargo.

Combined
horsepower with the gasoline engine is 139, and the torque rating is a
surprisingly robust 195 foot-pounds.A
Kia-touted six-speed dual-clutch transmission earned its praises with seamless
shifts across the full range of revs.

Granted, this
is not a road burner of a vehicle. If you want that, that’s a whole different
shopping trip.

What the Niro
does offer is good road manners, utility and versatility for an affordable
price -- $30,545 on the tester.That
price included everything, including a full boat of safety features, a long
list of comfort/convenience features (leather seat trim and heated/ventilated
front seats among them) and a few upper-end exterior touches, such as LED daytime running lights.

Another bonus:
46 miles per gallon in the city and 40 mpg on the highway.A regenerative braking system chips in when
it can.

And yes, it’s
kind of sporty-looking machine riding on those 18-inch alloy wheels and the
wide-and-low stance of a pro football linebacker.

I enjoyed my
week in the Niro enough to mentally ask: Where were you years ago when I had a
young family and a correspondingly tight budget?

No answer came
to me.

That’s
OK.I enjoyed my time in the present
with the Niro, a comparatively small machine with surprisingly large appeal at
the curb and on the road.

Sacramento, California – I’ve had a
recent run of Genesis models – think Hyundai with luxury and performance extras
– but my recent week with the 2018 Genesis 3.3T Sport with rear-wheel drive
takes the cake.

This new
addition to the Genesis lineup stands out in performance, which is exceptional
and downright addicting.

The 3.3-liter
twin-turbo V-6 power plant doesn’t just propel the sedan…it projects it through
a seemingly parallel universe where the laws of physics don’t apply.Response is so instantaneous and so dramatic
that surrounding cars in motion appear to freeze in place as my ride blazes
ahead.

This is a
serious rush.

I repeatedly
found myself mashing the accelerator to get the full experience from the
advertised 365 horsepower and 376 foot-pounds of torque.This is a finely tuned piece of machinery
that delivers the kind of response that other cars advertise, but don’t quite
deliver the goods at this level.

This G80
dispatches pokes, texters, mobile phone chatters and slow-footed drivers so
quickly, it’s like they were never there.How many cars can do that? … cars that are priced less than $100,000
that is.

For
perspective, my tester was feature loaded and wore an understandable bottom
line of $56,225.

The comfort/convenience
package included premium leather seating surfaces, a power tilt-and-slide
panoramic sunroof, an exceptional 9.2-inch touchscreen with multiple functions,
a top-level 17-speaker audio system and even a wireless charging pad in the
front of the cabin.

A full round
of state-of-the-art driver safety/assist features comes standard.Exceptional federal crash-test safety ratings
are topped off by a max five-star overall score.As usual, the Hyundai-based warranties are more
than generous.

By the way, it
looks good with sporty lines that are not overdone.From all sides, the G80 radiates luxury more
than it does power.

OK, fuel
mileage isn’t so great at 17 miles per gallon in the city and 25 mpg on the
highway, but I’m guessing the G80’s target audience is not counting pennies at
the gas pumps.

My week with
the tester only added to my respect for Hyundai, which has evolved from a
one-time maker of cheap cars to a producer of top-quality vehicles.And in my book, this G80 leads the
automaker’s current fleet of models.

Sacramento, California – The
minivans I drove on family vacations in the 1980s were Flintstone Mobiles
compared with the recently tested 2018 Honda Odyssey Elite.

Oh, where were
you when I needed you fair Odyssey?

The tested
Odyssey was a mind-blowing combination of spectacular technology, entertainment
features and pleasure perks.It was a
veritable amusement park on wheels.

The features
in this fifth-generation Odyssey are so numerous that it’s hard to know where
to begin … And once started, you don’t know where to stop, lest you leave out
an eye-popping experience.

There’s the 4G
LTE in-vehicle Wi-Fi that supports streaming video and music.There’s the CabinTalk feature, sort of an
in-car public address system that enables the driver to talk with second- and
third-row passengers through entertainment system headphones of via speakers.

Then there’s
the CabinWatch system that employs a ceiling-mounted camera with infrared
capability, which enables the driver to keep an eye on back-seat passengers via
an eight-inch display screen.

CabinControl
works via an app that enables smartphone users to control the rear
entertainment system, rear cabin climate and some aspects of the vehicle’s
navigation system.Part of CabinControl
is the “Social Playlist,” which operates like a virtual jukebox, allowing up to
seven passengers to upload their music choices to the audio system via
smartphones.

“Magic Slide”
seats can be quickly configured to the social patterns of the cabin.Squabbling kids can be separated.True pals can be closer together.

I know, can
you believe it?

And I’m just
touching the tip of the iceberg here.

On top of all
this are multiple, state-of-the-art safety systems and top-tier interior
comforts, including tri-zone climate control and heated/ventilated front seats.

The tester’s
3.5-liter V-6 with 280 horsepower was more than enough to handle most of the
road chores, and the highly touted 10-speed automatic transmission handled
things like a champ.Freeway cruises
were quiet and effortless.

How much for
all this?Well, the bottom line on the
tested Odyssey Elite was $47,610, and yes, that is a big number to ponder.But like I say, this vehicle has everything.

Even the gas
mileage is pretty fair at 19 miles per gallon in the city and a notable 28 mpg
on the highway.

For me, this
2018 Odyssey is the ultimate machine in the evolution of the minivan.It’s hard to imagine how much more can be
stuffed into this venerable family traveler, but somehow, I’m sure Honda is
working on it right now.

This
review first appeared in the July 2017 edition of theNorthern & Central
California Cruisin’ Newspublished
out of Folsom, California – mg

Sacramento,California– When the Mazda MX-5 Miata two-seater
made its debut on that cold morning at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show, the auto
world was grabbed by the collar and temporarily rendered speechless.

Maybe that’s why it was hard to put a label
on it from the beginning.It was a
two-seater.It was a roadster. It was a
Miata.Later, Mazda said to just call it
an MX-5.

What people did figure out right away was
that it was brilliantly styled and capable of turning heads from a mile
away.Was it the ultimate fun car? Given the reactions – Americans bought it like
crazy and some collectors were so convinced of its enduring greatness that they
bought new ones and immediately locked them up in garages for the long-term –
it was a resounding success.

All these years later, Mazda is not taking
any chances.My recent tester featured a
sticker that read “2017 Mazda MX-5 RF,” and just in case that wasn’t enough,
the full-on name listed below that was the “2017 MX-5 Miata Grand Touring RF.”

Here’s the best news: The reworked-for-2017
version is still a winner.Leave your
practicality at the dealership door when you go shopping for this car.This is the fun driver you’ve likely wanted
all your life. Can a car be playful?This one is.

What’s the RF stand for, you ask?It stands for Retractable Fastback, and yes,
that means you get the child-like joy of watching the hardtop roof
electronically retreat into the trunk area at the push of a button.You absolutely want to make sure the
neighbors are watching when you do this; small pleasures like this don’t come
along all the time in life.

The tester was a comparatively upscale
version of the MX-5 two-seater (no, there’s absolutely no room for anything
else, if you’re thinking that).My ride
had goodies that included a Bose audio system (nine speakers), rain-sensing
windshield wipers, heated front seats, leather upholstery and auto on/off LED
headlights.

That put the bottom line at $34,960,
certainly pricier than Miatas past but worth the check today given all the
appointments, in my view.

Even with all the perks, the tester remains
equipped with the standard 2-liter, four-cylinder engine rated at 155
horsepower and 148 foot-pounds of torque.For all the MX-5’s enduring popularity, Mazda has resisted the
temptation of, say, stuffing a 350-horsepower V-6 under the hood.Smart move.The basic power plant provides more than enough oomph and enjoyment for
the pleasure-seeking motorist.

Along that same line, Mazda has not messed
with the classic MX-5 design.The car is
instantly recognizable as one containing the DNA of the two-seater that took America by
storm long before anyone knew what texting was.

My tester handled twisty roads with a
familiar, agile grace, and it charged up hills like a champ.Safety features on the current generation are
more numerous and far better than anything being built in 1989, so the feeling
of security behind the wheel was comforting.The 360-degree view from the driver’s seat is not great, but then again,
the same can be said of the first MX-5 Miatas.

Fuel mileage remains a plus at an advertised
26 miles per gallon in the city and 35 mpg on the highway.

I did have one gripe that had nothing to do
with the MX-5 and everything to do with me.My aging, 6-4 frame was challenged climbing out of the low-slung
tester.I discovered that the best way
to exit the vehicle was to swivel my frame counterclockwise, plant both feet on
the pavement and then use both legs to drive upward, as if I was vying for a
rebound in some basketball game among oldsters.

Well, we all get older.The same can be said of the MX-5, yet it
still looks and acts young and exciting.

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Check out my review of the 2017 Chrysler 300S sedan in the latest, August 2017, edition of theNorthern & Central California Cruisin’ News, published out of Folsom,California, by John Sweeney and Evonne Sotelo.The “Hot Laps” reviews, along with my "Oil Drips" observations on anything with wheels, appear monthly in the publication.

To subscribe to the Cruisin’ News, visitwww.cruisinnews.com, call (916) 933-0949 or send an e-mail request to cruisinnews@mac.com. Mailed requests for information should be sent to Cruisin’ News,P.O. Box1096, Folsom, CA 95763-1096.

Auto Enthusiasts

About

Mark Glover has been a professional journalist for 40 years. Since 1984, he has worked for The Sacramento Bee in California's capital city. He was the paper's auto editor from 2000-08, reviewing hundreds of motor vehicles during that time. His reviews currently appear at sacbee.com and in the Northern & Central California Cruisin' News published monthly out of Folsom, California. He is a former director on the board of the California Autombile Museum in Sacramento. A lifelong auto racing fan, Glover has attended the Indianapolis 500 since 1961. He has an extensive Indy 500 collection of programs, tickets and badges.